Once Upon a Time
by Tarafina
Summary: Oliver tells their story.


**Title**: Once Upon a Time  
**Category**: Smallville  
**Genre**: Family/Humor/Romance  
**Pairing**: Chloe/Oliver  
**Rating**: PG  
**Word Count**: 1,465  
**Summary**: Oliver tells their story.

**_Once Upon a Time_**  
-1/1-

Once upon a time there was a billionaire… who also played superhero in green leather at night, but very few knew this and so it wasn't often brought up in polite conversation. In any case, there was a billionaire named Oliver Queen; a good man who had a less than defining past and worked hard, daily, to make himself into the kind of person his parents could have been proud of. See, at the tender age of five, Oliver had lost his parents, Robert and Laura, to a tragic plane crash; one that happened to be orchestrated by people the couple had once considered friends. And so Oliver grew up in a home void of the love and family he had once known and come his teenage years he was jaded and dark, taking his sad childhood out on others. During his early twenties, he had already taken such lengths to protect himself that he pushed away the first woman he'd ever truly loved. Tess "Mercy" Mercer. But upon a revelation and a life-altering understanding of himself and the world, Oliver Queen was able to right himself and take up a stance as a better man who looked toward the future and vowed that he would change it, that he would make it something worth being proud of.

Oliver had picked up his green leather and his bow and arrow and was just beginning his adventures as Green Arrow, justice seeker for all, when he found the second love of his life. But all was not quite so easy to come together. Lois Lane, a brash, beautiful and brilliant woman, had opened him up once more to the possibilities of love, commitment and companionship but his loyalties to saving the world made him turn a blind eye to that future. And so, broken-hearted, they parted ways and he was once again relying solely on his duo-identity to help him through his rocky life.

It came as a surprise the day he found himself entangled in a heated kiss with none other than his favorite and most trusted sidekick, Watchtower. More so shocking was that she was, in fact, his ex-girlfriend Lois' dearest younger cousin. Having regretted his decision to break up with Lois for some time, too long in fact, he was wary to start something between himself and good friend, Chloe, and so they agreed on something less permanent. A friends-with-benefits package that would help them through stressful times, provide the comfort they both needed, but allow them the freedom they so desired—

_"What's that, daddy?" little Anna Queen, four years old and ever-curious, asked._

_Oliver frowned. "Uh, it's where two people kiss and hold hands a lot so they don't feel lonely… But they're not girlfriend and boyfriend, honey, just really, _really _good friends…"_

_Chloe narrowed her eyes at him, bemused. "Nice explanation, Ollie."_

_He shrugged innocently before returning to his tale…_

And so Chloe and Oliver began their… _very close _friendship, without telling any of their friends or family in case judgment was first on the menu. However, the more time they spent, pretending it was only friendship, the closer the two became. As Chloe had been there in the past to pick Oliver up off the ground and dust him off after his many missteps and stumbles, he too had been there to keep her from becoming the recluse she was so set on being—

_Chloe snorted, rolling her eyes._

_"Are you going to let me tell the story?" Ollie asked, frowning at her._

_She held up an innocent hand with mocking wide eyes of surrender. "Oh, please, do continue…"_

And over days and weeks of laughter and, uh… close friendship, Chloe and Oliver began to fall in love. Having never planned to and both agreeing that nothing more would come from their agreement, neither would tell the other of this change. So, playing oblivious, they acted like everything was as it was supposed to be. But, being the ever charming and cunning man he was, Oliver decided that their agreement simply couldn't continue as it had. It was time he show Chloe he loved her and it was time she loved him back. And so he made a plan; one that would show her just how good they could be together, how in-love they really were, and—

_"That's not how I remember it," Chloe interrupted. "In fact, I think _I _figured it out long before you did…"_

_Oliver rolled his eyes. "But did you _do _anything?"_

_Pursing her lips, she cocked a brow. "Trust me, Big Green, you weren't solo on this mission of yours!"_

_Tucking her blonde hair behind her ear, he smirked. "Does it matter? We both won in the end!"_

_Slowly, Chloe's lips curved into a grin and she leaned forward to meet Oliver's mouth in a kiss._

_However, before they could even start, Anna's head appeared between them, allowing their kisses to hit her cheeks. "I wanna know how it ends!" she exclaimed impatiently._

_Oliver chuckled under his breath, sighing in exaggerated disappointment. "All right…_"

With elaborate plans for flowers and showers of gifts, everything from the best of the best in imported coffees to the highest of technological advances in laptops, and even interviewing a crooning clown that would follow her around and sing ballads, Oliver set out to woo his sidekick and partner into seeing the truth.

But… _He sighed for effect_. Nothing was every easy in Oliver Queen's life and so whatever he planned seemed to go horribly, _horribly _wrong. The coffee was mixed up with decaf, the laptop blew up while still in its original packaging, and the clown wasn't exactly taking his medications… And so, disappointed and feeling as if the world was giving him a sign, Oliver went home, loosening his tie and letting his shoulders slump in defeat. But as he stepped into his apartment, he came face-to-face with the one woman he'd been trying so very hard to impress.

Holding a bottle of wine and two glasses, she grinned at him mischievously, as was her forte. "Celebration, Mr. Queen?"

Despite his bad day, a smile tugged at his lips. "And what are we celebrating, Miss. Sullivan? I must not have received the memo."

Walking toward him, her green heels clicking, she tipped her head back to meet his gaze. "The beginning…"

Brows furrowed, he waited for further explanation.

"Funny thing… Either you forgot or you were so involved in your scheme that you overlooked a rather vital piece of information…" she trailed off, knowingly.

Shrugging his coat off, he undid his cuff links and rolled his shirt sleeves up his arms before taking the bottle of wine and popping the cork. "And that was?"

She smirked. "That I monitor your bank accounts; every transaction, even those that are cancelled due to a malfunction on the company's part."

With a pause, he shook his head, smiling slowly. "So even if you didn't get my gifts, you knew they were coming," he said, understanding.

Nodding, she grinned. "Looked like you were going out of your way to get a certain someone's attention, Ollie."

"A very certain someone," he agreed, lowly. Taking their glasses, he poured them each one and then placed the bottle on the table. With his free arm now wrapped around her waist, he tugged her close. "And have I got it, Professor?"

Taking a long sip of her wine, eyes never straying from his, she licked her lips and dropped her glass behind her. "It was never anywhere else."

_Oliver paused in his story, grinning widely to himself in happy memory._

_"Then what happened?" Anna asked innocently._

_Chloe snorted. "Yes, Oliver, then what happened?"_

_"Uh…" Oliver stared down at his curious four year old and cleared his throat. Wrinkling his nose for effect, he hugged her tight and brought his face close to hers. "They hugged and kissed and were all sloppy and lovey-dovey!" he exclaimed, nuzzling her small nose with his own._

_Giggling, Anna shook her head. "Eeew!" she cried._

_"Exactly!" Tickling her sides, he kissed her blonde hair affectionately._

_"So he got his happy ever after?" she wondered, looking up at him hopefully._

_Smiling gently, Oliver looked from her to his wife, who was staring up at him with the same green eyes as their beloved daughter. "Yeah… Oliver and Chloe lived happily ever after…"_

_Chloe looked down at their little girl and nodded. "They got married and had a beautiful little girl, their pride and joy!"_

_Anna grinned excitably and then reached over to touch her mom's rounded stomach. "And a little boy too, right? They had Baby Connor and their family was perfect!"_

_"Right," Oliver agreed, wrapping his arms around his family. "Absolutely perfect."_

And they all lived happily ever after.

The end.


End file.
